Board of Directors Meeting Minutes from
May 15, 2023
NORTH DAKOTA ASSOCIATION OF THE BLIND, INC.
PRE-CONVENTION BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
May 15, 2023
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Trampes Brown, Lexee Steffan, Rebecca Anderson, Helen Baumgartner, Doug Stip, Milissa Miller, Gerald Byron, Allan Peterson and Zelda Gebhard
GUESTS PRESENT: Mary Stip, Janelle Olson & Michelle Zentz
GUEST TOPICS: Dining in the Dark
CALL TO ORDER: Trampes called the meeting to order at 7:04 pm via Zoom.
ROLL CALL: Helen took roll call.
REPORTS:
President: Trampes gave an update on the 2023 Convention. There will not be an NDAB Teen Camp this year.
Secretary: On April 17th, the March 27th and April 5th board minutes were approved.
On April 18th, a sympathy card was sent to Mark Kueffler, NDAB member, for the loss of his wife, Shannon.
On May 2nd, a sympathy card was sent to the family of Angie Kokott.
On May 9th, a thank you card was received from Mark Kueffler.
Treasurer’s Report: Missy informed the board that NDAB received a $1,500 donation to be used for the 2022 convention and the proposed budget did not reflect the donation as income for the convention. Missy also asked why the Life Enrichment committee is keeping the recipient of the award secret. Concern was expressed by other board members. Zelda did inform the board that she was the recipient of the award for online piano lessons. Helen asked about the $75 charges for Sports & Rec Guests at the Spring Retreat as some were not able to attend due to the weather. Trampes had resolved this issue during the weekend. Allan made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s report, seconded by Missy. MC
Development Director: Allan reported the 2023 GHD contributions total 18,702.
Membership: Lexee presented new members: Steve Anderson, Fargo, sighted; Richard Hatch, Sykeston, VI; and Ethan Thiseth, Fargo, VI junior member. Allan made a motion to approve these new members, seconded by Missy. MC The following scholarship recipients will receive free membership: Karston Keller, Mandan; Brian Bartholmy, Scranton; Cylee Walton, Cavalier and Tanner Werner, Breckenridge, MN. There are 149 adult members and 1 junior member. The Membership Handbook was sent out to the board. Suggestions for changes and corrections should be sent to Lexee. The approval of the Handbook was tabled until the next board meeting. A committee meeting was held regarding the survey. Member to member messages will be resumed as a result of the survey.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Dining in the Dark: Janelle announced the next DITD will be held in October 2023. The State Lions’ Convention will be the same weekend in Minot. There is an opportunity to have DITD in May of 2024. There will be a MD5 meeting in Minot, bringing in Lion’s from other states and Canada. The venue is going to be moved off-site, rather than in the hotel, which may increase attendance.
Finance: Allan reported the proposed budget has been drafted. Rebecca reported there are still checks that need to be recorded, so the Actual Budget column will change. Since we no longer have a raffle, that line item will be deleted. The year was completed in the black. Allan made a motion that the board present the proposed budget to the convention body for approval, seconded by Gerald. MC
Communications: There are member spotlights being posted on Facebook.
GHD: Allan recently attended a GHD meeting. They stressed the importance of keeping donors informed during the year. Extending a thank you and recognizing donors is important. Allan will send out a communication to donors after the convention letting them know what we have done and what we will be doing.
Sports and Rec: Trampes reported an article was submitted to the Promoter. Sixteen people were able to attend. People are able to attend once for free. They will need to become an NDAB member in order to attend the second time.
Awards: Mary will submit a picture and article of the Bob LePage award recipient to the ND Lion magazine.
Convention 2023: Trampes reported preparations are being finalized. There are 32 NDAB members and 2 musicians registered. It was the hotel’s requirement to stay 2 nights to get the $150 room rate. Some people are not attending due to the 2-night requirement. Trampes stated future conventions may need to be hybrid to allow more members to attend due to costs being prohibitive.
Scholarship: Rebecca received and read a Thank you note from Karston Keller.
Legislative: Allan reported all visits were made with the Congressional delegation. Rep. Cramer and Sen. Armstrong will have representatives at the Legislative Luncheon. A meeting was held with the State Library Talking Book staff. Concerns regarding the production of local magazines and other issues were discussed. Staff assured these concerns will be addressed with the hiring of additional staff. Discussions of possible outsourcing for recording magazines and newsletters is being researched.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
Consent Agenda: Discussion was held regarding using a Consent Agenda at future meetings. This topic was tabled until the next board meeting.
ADJOURN: Allan made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Lexee. MC The meeting adjourned at 9:10 pm.
Respectfully Submitted, Helen Baumgartner, NDAB Secretary